let's run away (and leave the world behind)
by starlight.moon.princess
Summary: In a heterophobic wizarding world, Breeders are those people who cannot accept the reality of society, and as such are predominantly Muggleborn. Witches and wizards aren't supposed to fall in love with Breeders - and they definitely aren't supposed to fall in love with someone of the opposite sex. And yet, somehow, James manages to do both. JamesLily, Dystopian!AU


**This fic has been entered in the ********Summer 2013 Wizarding Modly Forum-Wide Comp Of Awsomeness.**

**Class: **Surprise Duelling**  
****Option: **Purple - using the prompts see and determined, the sentence "He was a Potter," and the genre Drama**  
****House: **Slytherin**  
****Wand: **Wood: Laurel; Core: Ashwinder Ash; Length: 12 inches**  
****Score: **[please PM me the detailed score]

**For the Quidditch League Fanfiction Competition (dystopian!AU) and the If You Dare Challenge (167. Whispered)**

**Summary: **In a heterophobic wizarding world, Breeders are those people who cannot accept the reality of society, and as such are predominantly Muggleborn. They're the ones who give birth to children - the only time with heterosexual acts are permitted and tolerated. Witches and wizards aren't supposed to fall in love with Breeders - and they definitely aren't supposed to fall in love with someone of the opposite sex. And yet, somehow, James manages to do both. JamesLily, Dystopian!AU

_For Liza. Happy birthday love - congratulations on turning 18! I hope I've done this plot bunny justice - at least, enough that you love it :)_

* * *

This wasn't the way his life was supposed to turn out.

He wasn't supposed to be running through a desert, a girl's hand clutched in his.

He wasn't supposed to be running to the Order of the Phoenix, leaving everything he had ever known behind.

He was a _Potter_.

Potters didn't fall in love with Breeders. And Potter men did _not_ fall in love with women.

Yet here he was.

* * *

"James, we've found her."

James Potter raised his head, looking at his mother with shining eyes. "Truly?" he gasped out.

Mama nodded; a beatific smile on her face. "When you decide which of your suitors you're going to choose, you'll have the perfect Breeder waiting for you."

"Mum, mama," he started to say, but then broke off, too overwhelmed at the thought of his own child to continue speaking.

"It's okay, love," Mum said soothingly. "We understand. Would you like to see her?"

"Of course," James replied.

* * *

"James," she gasped out.

"It's okay, Lily," he murmured, turning to face her. "We'll be there soon."

He pulled her into his arms, stroking her hair soothingly and dropping soft kisses on her head.

He was a _Potter_.

He wasn't supposed to be here, running away from everything he had ever known.

* * *

She was beautiful. Physically perfect, with flaming red hair and emerald green eyes that stared at him from behind the glass partition.

"You were right, Mama," James murmured. "She's the one."

"Do you know who you're going to pick yet, James?" Mama asked, leading him away from the Breeding Pen.

"I'm not sure, Mama. I would have chosen either Sirius or Remus, but- well, it's either Snape or Gideon Prewitt now, I think. None of the others are interesting enough."

"They're both good choices, love. But-"

James tuned his mother out. For some reason, the red-haired Breeder was occupying his mind more than thoughts of who his future husband would be.

* * *

"James, how do you even know the location? I thought – they were making sure that no information leaked out to the people."

James looked down at the girl in his arms, hands still occupied with the hair that had fascinated him for so long.

"I know someone," he murmured. "A sympathiser. He was the one who gave me the information."

"Are you sure that he can be trusted?" she asked fearfully.

"I know he can," he replied simply. "He's my best friend."

Lily fell silent, and James returned to his conflicted thoughts.

He loved her more than anything else, but he was still a Potter.

He was a _Potter_, and this wasn't what a Potter did.

* * *

"I would love you for all the days of my life, James," the man in front of him murmured. "I hope you choose me – I can give you love like Snape would never be able to."

James hummed noncommittally. He knew he should have been listening to Gideon's words, but the only thing he could think about was how similar the man's hair was to the red-headed Breeder his mothers had picked out for him.

These weren't normal thoughts; he knew that better than anyone else. But no matter how much he tried, he just couldn't get his mind away from her.

* * *

"We're almost there, Lily," James encouraged her. "Don't stop now."

"It's too much," Lily gasped, tears in her eyes as she tried to force her body to run just that little bit more. "I can't-"

"I know Lils, but the compound's protected. We have to approach it without any form of magic or we'll never make it over the boundary line."

"James-"

He looked at the struggling girl in front of him, and determinedly gathered her up into his arms.

He was _Potter_.

He may not be thinking like a Potter did, but he was still one. And Potter would not be denied what they wanted, no matter what they had to do to get it.

* * *

"You'll need this," Sirius whispered, handing James a piece of parchment.

James opened it tentatively.

_The Headquarters of the Order of the Phoenix can be found in the Grimmauld Place compound._

He looked up at his best friend, astonishment plain of his face. "Sirius, how-"

Sirius and Remus were the darlings of the wizarding world, the poster children in the fight against the Order of the Phoenix and their drive to merge the heterosexual world with their own. He was the last person James would have expected to know the secret location of the Order.

"I won't claim to understand, James," Sirius replied, "But it doesn't change the fact that you're my best mate. D'you really think I didn't notice the fact that you looked at girls as often as boys? I'm the last person they'd expect to be a sympathiser, but they never factored you in. Remus agrees with me – a world where you can't fall in love the way we can isn't a place we want to live in."

"Sirius-" James whispered, completely overwhelmed by the devotion and love his friends were giving him.

"I know," he said, a faint smile on his face. "Go on then – you have someone to save. I'll see you the next time in come by the compound."

Taking one last look at his most loyal friend, James closed his eyes disapparated with the red-head firmly in his mind.

He reappeared right in front of the glass wall that separated the Breeders from the general population. The girl was there, eyes snapping to look at him as he appeared.

A simple spell – one he had learned after hours of research – and the glass wall was gone, and the girl with the emerald eyes was staring at him uncomprehendingly.

"I'm James," he murmured, holding out his hand. "Will you come with me?"

For long moments, she didn't reply, and James wondered if he'd made a mistake. But then she grasped his hand and smiled as he walked out of the Pen. "I'm Lily," she said.

* * *

He looked at the compound in front of him. This was the only chance he had to turn back.

He was a Potter. He could return without any danger of reprisals.

But then he looked at the girl in his arms. And he realised – he may have been a Potter, but he was also a man in love. And that latter identity was more important to him than the former.

"Lily, wake up, we're here," he murmured, shaking the girl in his arms awake.

"James?" she whispered, confused and drowsy.

Holding her tight, he stepped through the boundary.

"We're here," he repeated.

Before Lily could say anything, a man walked towards them.

"I see two more of you have left," he said in place of an introduction. "Dumbledore and Grindlewald seem to be losing followers more and more rapidly."

And then he came closer and James saw why he hadn't bothered introducing himself. There was no one in the wizarding world who didn't know the face of the leader of the Order of the Phoenix.

Tom Riddle themselves had come to greet them.

* * *

"They'll kill us if they find out," Lily whispered, terrified.

"I know," James murmured. "We have to leave."

"But- you're a Potter," she said. "How-"

"It won't matter to them. I may be a Potter, but I'm still a man who fell in love with a woman. Being a Potter will only just save my life. They'll make sure that I'll never be free again."

"Your mothers-"

"I love them," James interrupted. "Maybe they would understand. I don't know. But I'm not going to put them in danger. If Grindlewald's men come for them, they'll be able to truthfully say that they don't know anything."

Lily looked at him. "When do we leave?"

* * *

"Where are we?" Lily muttered. The room she was in was pure white, a round faced matron bustling about in front of her. She could feel the lightest pressure on her hand, and when she turned her face, James was sitting there. "James?" she asked, confused. "Where are we? I thought we were on our way to the Order of-"

"We've reached," he interrupted her. "We're safe. We're home, Lily."

* * *

**I hope you guys liked this! Please don't forget to drop a review on your way out :)**


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